Golfo di Barttti
Location: Tuscany
Village type: Tents
Year opened: 1951
Year closed: 1956
We carefully inspected the Mediterranean shores. Without hesitation, our choice fell on the Golfo di Baratti located on the mainland, opposite the island of Elba and 60km south of Pisa.
Trident No. 3 – April 1951
The story goes that we owe the discovery of the Golfo di Baratti site to Dimitri Philipoff. After being involved with the Club Olympique, he joined Club Med at the beginning of 1951. At the request of Gérard Blitz, he was tasked with finding a suitable site for a resort. Spain was rejected because the Spanish authorities were dragging their feet, so Italy, and more specifically the Tuscan region, was chosen for its easy access, climate, and Mediterranean coastline. Golfo di Baratti was found in two days. The municipality of Piombino, where Baratti beach is located, was politically communist. Since Dimitri Philipoff was Russian, he was received and treated as a "comrade" by the local political authorities. They offered him every possible assistance without any concern that he had fled the Soviet regime after the Russian Revolution!
Just as with Alcudia, Robert Baudin was responsible for building the facilities. The village was imperfect, the beach sand was black and stuck to your feet, but this did not prevent the success of Golfo di Baratti.
The village closed in 1956.
Personalities who have left their mark on the history of Baratti and Club Med.
Dimitri PHILIPOFF: Discoverer of the site in 1951 and village chief until 1956.
Jean Pierre BECRET: is appointed acting village chief during Dimitri PHILIPOFF's illness
Dimitri KOULIKOVSKI: He is a prince of Russian origin. In the village, he is the "Transportation" expert, organizing excursions and negotiating rates with Tuscan museums. He also sets up the entire rail transport system for Club Med in Italy. In a way, he is the inventor of the Club's special trains.
Jean BALANDJIAN: Arriving in the village in 1951 as a GM (Gentil Membre - Club Manager), he quickly gained recognition for his talent as a singer and musician. He never left the Club, and in 1955 became the village chief of Djerba (la Fidèle - the Faithful).
You can find more photos of Baratti here
Videos
Baratti in 1951, a film from archival footage shot by Marcel Contal
Selection of photos by Barrati,
edited by Gérard Pigeon Decosterd
Good morning
First of all, a big thank you for Collier Bar.
I'm writing to ask you to please correct a small error in your text: the name of Robert Baudin, who indeed built Alcudia (where I've been…) and then Baratti, and whose name can also be found in other villages, is spelled BAUDIN (there is no E).
Thank you,
sincerely,
His son: JP Baudin